Murder in Jamaica: An Anna Winters Cozy Mystery (Murder in Paradise Book 3) (2 page)

As Anna walked out through the courtyard to the hotel’s spa, she couldn’t help but notice how warm the sun was. It felt good on her skin and she wished her time in Jamaica were off to a slightly different start. Instead, she was dealing with more murder and mayhem.

As she approached the building where the hotel spa was located, she could feel herself becoming nervous. Anna didn’t like the initial confrontations and having people putting up their guard. It had become somewhat routine for her at this point, but it didn’t make it any easier.

Pushing open the double oak doors, she stepped into the spa and paused for a moment. The walls were lined with ivory marble and the floors were a deep luxurious red. In the center of the spa was a large, crystal clear swimming pool lined with chairs. Off to the side were six individual doors. Behind them, spa treatments and massages would take place on comfortable tables.

This was an area Anna would never have the luxury of going into had she not worked for the hotel. It was a place for the elite and everyone in the room had to have clearance at each of the hotels in the chain. Often, movie stars, politicians, and other high profile people would come here to escape from the world. Staff were never permitted to speak to these individuals unless they were approached first. Today, Anna would break those rules and it made her uncomfortable as she was accustomed to doing everything by the book.

Three women were lying on the chairs around the pool. The women seemed unfazed as Anna walked into the building and approached them.

Lying on each side of new bride, Lucy O’Sullivan, was Courtney Keller and Mica Swenson. While Lucy had brown hair, pale white skin and shimmering blue eyes, the other two women were a stark contrast. In fact, as Anna stood there and looked at them, she realized the two women could easily pass for twins.

Both had their hair cut in short blonde pixie cuts and had tall, thin frames. While Courtney had blue eyes, Mica had emerald green eyes.

“We aren’t twins.” Mica began. “You keep looking at us as though we were but we aren’t twins. Are we, Courtney?”

“What?” Courtney slowly asked and fumbled to sit up in her chair. “Did you say cops?”

“Just relax, Court.” Lucy replied and pat her friend’s hand. “I’m very happy to see you, Anna. Did you come to see me?”

“I have some questions to ask you ladies, if that’s okay?” Anna began. “I know today has been a traumatic time for all of you. Normally, I wouldn’t bother you, but the hotel’s owner has asked me to talk with the guests of the wedding reception to determine what happened.”

“Oh, it’s obvious what happened.” Lucy snickered. “Someone in your kitchen decided to poison two of my guests. Of course, they didn’t single out just anyone. No, they took out my husband’s two best friends. Heath Westcott wasn’t a real loss, but the other was Mica’s husband.”

“Quentin was his name.” Mica replied. “Quentin Swenson. I’m so numb right now over the loss. I was crying and Lucy, bless her heart, asked me to come down to the spa with her. I knew I didn’t want to be alone, so I accepted her gracious invitation. That is the reason you found us here, isn’t it, dear?”

“Yes, it is.” Anna agreed. “I’m just surprised you don’t have puffy eyes and a red nose from the crying you did earlier. The staff here must do exceptionally well with their relaxation techniques.”

“If you are saying I didn’t love my husband...” Mica warned.

“No, I wouldn’t say that at all.” Anna responded. “I was admiring what an incredible job they accomplished is all.”

“Thanks, I think.” Mica replied.

“You know, both men were very rich and powerful.” Lucy responded. “Harvey knew them since childhood and had ongoing business with them over the years. Heath was worth $20 million dollars and operated a firm where Quentin also worked.”

“But Heath was the top dog and the champion.” Mica replied, scurrying past the topic. “You don’t think that someone killed them because of where they worked, do you?”

“Maybe they were killed for having killer bodies?” Lucy laughed and winked.

“Inappropriate.” Mica snapped. “My husband just died. You could show a little more class than you usually do. I mean, everyone knows you are a flirty little minx who just loves to flaunt her body.”

“Guilty as charged.” Lucy replied with a smile.

“Anyway, do you think all of this is about their work?” Mica asked Anna.

Before Anna could answer, Courtney shot up and sat down for a moment, with a confused look on her face.

“No, you get a job.” Courtney said out of nowhere.

Anna turned to look at the woman and looked at Lucy. She watched as the woman blushed.

“She needed a high to help her relax.” Lucy replied in a hushed tone. “Courtney doesn’t deal with stress well. She has a drug habit and we are going to get her into rehab.”

“Tried to throw me in Rehab and I said, No. No. No.” Courtney sang.

“We can’t have a guest who is drugged out of her mind at this time.” Anna warned. “If the police discover her drugs when they search her room, it will cause problems for her.”

“Why would the police search her room?” Lucy asked. “They would need a warrant for that.”

“Not if they believe there could be a crime in progress.” Anna replied. “You just need to be careful.”

“I think we’re done here. Wouldn’t you say?” Lucy responded coldly. “You should leave now.”

Anna nodded her head and turned to go. As she walked through the courtyard, she felt as though she needed to bring the fact that Courtney could have drugs on her or in her room to the attention of law enforcement. Somehow, she could have snuck into the kitchen, laced some plates of food with whatever she was high on in an effort to hide the drugs and killed two men.

Although not probable, it was something that needed to be looked into. Entering the hotel, she turned and went into the banquet hall. Off to the side, she saw Detective Harold Mueller.

He was a hard man with a stern look on his face. Time had not been kind to him as wrinkles crawled across his face. His brown eyes had lost their light and had bags under them. Once thick brown hair was now thinning and had streaks of grey.

“What do you need, Ms. Winters?” His voice was hard and thick.

“I came to talk to you about one of the guests, Courtney Keller.” Anna began.

“Is she the killer?” the man asked sarcastically. “I know your reputation, Ms. Winters. So, if you are coming to heroically save the day and unload a bunch of information on me, save us both the time and just give it a rest. Unless you have concrete evidence that suggests otherwise.”

“I have nothing along those lines.” Anna sighed. “But I do have knowledge of a possible crime being committed.”

“I’m a homicide detective.” Detective Mueller snapped. “That is my job. Your job is to make food and take care of guests. So, go back to your job and let me do mine.”

“She’s taking illegal drugs.” Anna blurted out. “I’m concerned that if she is willing to do drugs, killing wouldn’t be out of the question.”

“How do you know she’s doing drugs?” the detective demanded. “Do you have proof?”

“Well, no.” Anna replied. “But if you check her room, I am certain you’ll find something.”

“Oh, so I’m going to go in without a search warrant and try to find drugs?” The detective looked at her with steely eyes. “You don’t understand the legal process, Ms. Winters. I can’t cook chicken cordon bleu and I am sure you can. If I attempted to make it, I would fail, just like you are failing at being a super sleuth.”

“I don’t think I like you very much.” Anna replied. “I am just doing my civic duty and trying to help.”

“I don’t think you know what you’re doing.” Detective Mueller replied. “If we’re done here?”

Anna shook her head and turned to walk away. As she exited the room, she bumped into a young man in a police uniform. His soft grey eyes were apologetic and his uniform was well pressed.

“Oh, you must be Officer-” Anna paused. “Oh, what did Detective Mueller say your name was?”

“Officer Peterson.” the young man replied. “How can I help you, ma'am?”

“He told me he was too busy to look into a crime and I should see you.” Anna replied.

“What is the crime?” the officer asked.

“I know where there might be drugs in the hotel.” Anna replied. “I was hoping the police could help. The hotel is giving you permission to check the room.”

“I should probably check with him.” the young man replied.

“Oh, well, he is in a very bad mood right now.” Anna lied. “He was upset about something that turned up.”

“He does have a temper.” Officer Peterson sighed. “Okay, let’s check this room.”

Anna nodded her head toward the stairs and the two of them climbed to the second floor. Entering the floor, Anna approached Courtney's room. The young man nodded at her and Anna unlocked the door and the officer entered the room.

As Anna stood guard, the officer rummaged through drawers, suitcases, and closets. Anna kept looking down the hall, nervous that Courtney would turn up and cause problems for her.

“There’s nothing here.” Officer Peterson replied.

“Are you certain?” Anna asked.

“I looked around.” Officer Peterson paused. “Let’s keep this between us. I’ll just tell my boss I saw you and rushed you off if he asks. I realized as I was searching that I broke protocol by not checking with him first. I could get in a lot of trouble.”

“So could I.” Anna nodded.

“You know, it was kind of wrong of you to do this to me.” Officer Peterson sighed. “This is only my second week on the job. I shouldn’t be so gullible.”

“Courtney Keller is an addict.” Anna replied. “I know she has drugs somewhere and I will prove it.”

“Maybe you could just focus on your own problems and stop playing detective.” The young man shrugged and left the room.

Anna stood there as she watched the man leave. Perhaps he was right. She shouldn’t have pulled that kind of stunt but she knew somehow the drugs had to be connected to something if not the murders. Closing the door behind her, she watched as Courtney came around the corner.

“Are you breaking into my room?” Courtney demanded.

“No, I mistakenly thought it was my room. I am on this floor, too.” Anna lied.

“Oh, yeah, this is my room.” Courtney replied. “Why was there a cop on our floor?”

“He was looking for drugs.” Anna shrugged her shoulders. “I told him a guest might have some.”

“Lady, that’s not cool.” Courtney snapped. “He could have busted me.”

“Do you have drugs in your room, Courtney?” Anna asked.

“Wait, you know my name?” Courtney asked puzzled. “Are you with the CIA?”

“No, I work for the hotel.” Anna paused. “I’ll let you get into your room and unwind.”

“Cool.” Courtney laughed and went into her room.

As Anna passed along the hallway, she came to Lucy and Harvey O'Sullivan's room. While passing, she noticed the door was open. Deciding to snoop a little, she pushed the door open and noticed the bed was made and the maid's courtesy card was on it.

Everything in the room was in place, but there was one thing missing. None of the luggage or any personal items for the bride and groom were in the room. In fact, it was empty of any of their belongings. Anna stepped out for a moment and wondered why they had suddenly left in a hurry.

Deciding there was no harm in entering the honeymoon suite, Anna thought she might as well snoop around and find what she could. Walking into the bathroom, she looked around the room.

The white tiles on the floor were clean and a pile of towels was tossed to one corner of the room. The shower appeared to have been used within the last hour, as some water still pooled on the tiles at the bottom. A soft floral scent hung in the air, suggesting that Lucy had been in the room not too long ago.

Taking a step back, Anna exited the bathroom and went over to the closet. She hoped something would have been left in there that might be a clue. The hangers were shoved to the side, but the safe was still locked. Anna decided to see if there was anything in it. Hoping Lucy was as predictable as most people during their wedding stays in the hotels, Anna punched in the date of the wedding.

The lock popped open and Anna looked inside. In the safe was the set of wedding rings from the nuptials that took place earlier in the day. It seemed strange that the bride and groom had taken them off and left them behind, but Anna decided they might have just kept them here for safekeeping and once they realize the rings were missing, they’d be back for them.

Anna couldn’t help but think that if she had just been married, she would have kept her ring on at all times. There was never a reason to take it off, as it was a symbol of the eternal love and devotion a man and a woman had for one another. It had so much significance that to toss them into a safe just a couple of hours after taking their vows seemed to be in poor taste. Shrugging it off, Anna turned from the safe.

Leaving the closet, she noticed something strange lying at the edge of the bed closest to the wall. Walking over to it, she saw broken pieces of wood on the floor. She noticed the drawer from the nightstand had been pulled out and smashed. The lock that once kept it secure was now thrown aside.

The amount of anger and force it must have taken to break into the drawer caused Anna some concern. A normal person would see a lock and leave it alone after realizing they couldn’t get beyond the lock. Instead, the person who broke into it had done so with aggressive intent.

By the drawer was a piece of torn paper. Anna picked it up and was delighted to see that the paper had been torn in large enough pieces that it would be easy to put it back together. Knowing the note could contain something valuable, Anna decided there was only one thing she could do. She quickly gathered up the pieces, put them together, and then read the note.

My Dearest Lucy,

I know that our love is forbidden but I don’t care what the world thinks. I am in love with you. We both know you don’t feel the same for Harvey. Your marriage is convenient, but I can give you all the same things he can.

I am a better lover than he is. My wealth is greater than his. You would never have to work again. There wouldn’t be a need for you to do anything except live your life as lavishly as you’d like. Please, my dearest Lucy, allow me to be the man who makes you the happiest woman alive.

We can board a plane before the wedding takes place. Then we can escape to anywhere in the world you’d like until Harvey calms down. We know how dangerous his temper is and I wouldn’t dream of anything awful happening to you.

Please send me a sign that you want to spend the rest of your life with me.

Eternally yours,

Heath

Anna paused at the end of the note. There was a time when extra marital affairs stunned her and left her shaken to the core. Seeing the note from Heath didn’t even faze her this time. Unfortunately, they seemed to be as commonplace in her life as the murders that kept taking place.

Based on the destruction in the room and the fact that Harvey has a temper, it was clear that he was responsible for the room being emptied. Anna was worried about Lucy. If Harvey found the note and had a fit of rage, it was possible he would take it out on Lucy.

Having experienced domestic violence at the hands of her own father, Anna knew the dangers Lucy faced. For a second, she thought about going to Detective Mueller and giving him the new information she found. But he had been cold to her and mocked her abilities.

But if Harvey had found the note, was it discovered before or after the murders at the reception? Discovering the note prior to the reception would give him motivation to kill Heath, but the death of Quentin wouldn’t make sense. Both men were friends with Harvey, so there would need to be something else that Anna wasn’t seeing right now.

There were few things the two victims had in common and that was making linking them to the same killer difficult. A single love letter from one of the victims to the bride only created a motive to kill one of the men. So, that only covered half the equation and there had to be something more to tie them together.

Unless...Quentin knew about the affair and was covering it up. It was possible that Harvey confronted Quentin about it, the man came clean and Harvey decided he was betrayed by both men. He could have decided to take out his revenge on both of them.

The only problem is that if the murder dealt with the affair, wouldn’t Lucy have been a target also? After all, if the betrayal broke his heart enough to kill, he would likely have killed her as well.

Then again, Harvey could have done it to protect his relationship with Lucy. He might have decided to eliminate anyone who might entice her away from him. However, it would have been too complicated and over the top to make it even remotely logical, so Anna just shook her head.

Thinking the affair wasn’t enough for Harvey to be the killer, Anna wondered what other ties the two men could have. As she stood there thinking, she decided to run the information past Pauline to see if her friend could give her any guidance on this.

She pulled her phone from her pocket and switched it from one hand to the other. The tiny blue phone seemed so strange compared to the phone she had only a decade ago when the coolest new feature was that it flipped open. Finding Pauline’s name from her address book, she selected the call option and her friend pick up the phone.

“This is Pauline.”

“It’s Anna. Hey, I found something strange in Harvey and Lucy's room.”

“Oh, hi, Anna. What did you find?” Pauline asked. “I hope it is something to steer us in the right direction.”

“I found a torn up love letter.” Anna replied. “The pieces were large enough I was able to put them back together.”

“That’s strange.” Pauline thoughtfully responded. “Who was it from?”

“It was from one of the victims, Heath.” Anna replied.

“I heard he was a sleazebag from some of the guests.” Pauline offered. “The guests I spoke with said he would approach women inappropriately and try to seduce them with his money. He’s been sued for sexual harassment a number of times also. I don’t think he is the kind of guy who would fall in love with someone.”

“Maybe he found something in her that inspired a change?” Anna offered. “I know it seems cliché and wishful thinking, but sometimes men can change who they are. Perhaps he saw something in Lucy that inspired him to change his playboy ways and stop being a scoundrel?”

“No,” Pauline replied. “He was still shamelessly hitting on women up until just before he died.”

“I wonder if his indiscretions lead to a jealous lover?” Anna paused. “The problem I am facing right now is how did the killer know which plate would go to the men?”

“You know, I think we have someone who is working on the inside.” Pauline whispered. “Too many people have gotten something that was poisoned after one of us handled it.”

“I can’t do the Cassandra is a killer conspiracy right now, Pauline.” Anna snapped. “I keep having thoughts that it might be an inside job as well, but we must stop thinking like that. Each time, we had the actual killer who was captured and admitted to the crime.”

“But it doesn’t make sense.” Pauline pressed. “There has to be more than what we see right now.”

“Maybe you just want Cassandra to be involved because you are jealous of her?” Anna suggested. “I mean, I have never seen two people who go after each other as furiously as the two of you do.”

“She has tried to ruin your life.” Pauline insisted. “She has gone after Pierre. She was feeding information to Mr. Puccio and tried to suggest you had ties to the Serbian mafia. There is something wrong with her, Anna. You have to stop being so blind to what she is. I care about you, there shouldn’t be any doubt about that. I worry about you.”

“I know, Pauline.” Anna sighed. “Let’s not worry about this anymore right now. I need to finish up in this room and see what I else I can find out about Quentin. There has to be something more to the affair that I’m not seeing now, something I can find that will be enough we can hand our evidence over to the police.”

“I guess so.” Pauline grew quiet. “If you end up finding yourself in trouble, you know you can always count on me.”

“I know.” Anna replied. “Thank you.”

With that, Anna hung up the phone. Anna stood near the bed and looked at a picture on the wall. It was a tropical ocean scene with palm trees and glistening water under the sun.

Pausing for a moment, she wondered why the hotel would hang tropical pictures in the room when guests can look out the window and actually see tropical waters. She found herself gently laughing at the irony and shook her head.

She was walking to the door when she heard the elevator door ding open and the sound of two voices float down the hallway. She could feel a sense of dread flow through her as she realized she knew the voices coming down the hallway.

Rushing to the bed, she gathered the pieces of the letter and dropped them on the floor next to the bed as if they had been carelessly dropped there. Walking to the bathroom, she considered hiding in that room, but decided that if she did, there was a greater chance of being found.

The voices in the hallway were growing louder and Anna frantically looked for someplace she could hide. The large red curtains could be hidden behind, but if someone chose to move them, she would be found.

Looking at the closet, she hurried in just as they entered the room. While she stood there wondering what she would do next, Anna could hear voices outside.

“The rings are in the safe, right?” Harvey’s voice boomed loudly. “We need to put them back on and deal with this right now. I am tired of the games and the lies. We are going to talk over everything right now so we can save our marriage rather than having it end before it began.”

Anna could hear the sound of the door being opened and she froze right then. There was nowhere for her to hide or escape from the man as he opened the doors. It was then that Anna wondered if this would be how she would die.